Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers explains Nicolas Kuhn issues but talks up what he can now offer

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Brendan Rodgers has shared his reasons for starting Nicolas Kuhn for Celtic in the Scottish Cup tie against Livingston on Sunday.

The German winger has been struggling to find his form since his £3m move from Rapid Vienna in January but the Celtic manager has explained his reasons for Kuhn’s inclusion as the Hoops progressed into the semi-finals of the competition.

Rodgers said [Celtic FC], “He’s fast, he’s dynamic and he can get in behind. In fairness to Nicolas, he came into the club obviously during their mid-season break.

“But he also had the issue around his teeth and he lost a lot of weight and he has taken a bit of time to find his strength.

“That said, he knows what we want and we want to use his pace and his directness to get in behind and have all that ability in the one-v-one that he has.

“So that’s an opportunity he has to come in and showcase his qualities.”

Nicolas Kuhn gamble pays off

In my view, Rodgers took a small gamble selecting the winger ahead of the likes of James Forrest.

Kuhn has offered next to nothing since his goal in the 1-1 draw with Aberdeen at Pittodrie. In just 220 minutes of football, the former German U20 international has struggled to show the qualities Rodgers listed above since his January move.

Rated at 6.9 for the season so far by Fotmob, Kuhn’s displays have been below what you would expect from a £3m player.

Averaging a passing success rate of 73.5% and long-ball accuracy of just under 67% the 24-year-old has a bit of work to do to get his passing up to scratch.

Kuhn’s dribbling success of 63.6% has helped him fashion 1.76 chances per game but in reality, that should be a lot higher for the amount of attacking possession Celtic have in the domestic fixtures.

With an assist for Daizen Maeda’s opener against Livingston yesterday, Kuhn repaid the faith shown in him by Rodgers and the fans will be hoping that this will be the kickstart the German needs to get his Celtic career going.

Rodgers noted in his post-match interview that all of Celtic’s creativity in the Scottish Cup win came from the right flank, so Kuhn has a chance of retaining his place in the line-up.